Friday, 11 December 2015

Merlin The Magician (Rick Wakeman, 1975)

If you need a further proof of Rick Wakeman's capacity to melt epic and ironic tones, "Merlin The Magician" is perfect for you. Not only it is a stunning piece of prog music and (useless to say) full of keyboards, but it also features rather humorous lyrics about Merlin, described as both a magic and laughable character. That said, what I really like in "Merlin The Magician" is the manifold and shimmering instrumental section, a very long one, along with the beautiful sung themes Rick wrote.

This must be Merlin... or maybe Rick The Magician. Same thing.

The entire "The Myths And Legends of King Arthur And The Knights of The Round Table" album is one of my favourite works by Wakeman, but surely this song in one of its brightest highlights. I see Merlin himself coming out of Rick's synths and cheerfully smiling to the listener. It's a kind of magic. Prog magic, I daresay.

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Another prog rock blog, but with an unusual point of view: songs instead of albums. You'll find here my favourite tracks and you can of course submit yours. Please read the instructions at the bottom of this page. I'll post new songs on a daily basis (well, sort of...) and you can browse the archives right now. Please find the audio links in the first comment to each post. Thank you and come back soon!